News Release

Singapore

China offshore real estate investment set for new record in 2013

2013-11-14T06:00:00Z

Outbound real estate transaction volumes from China up 25% y-o-y at end of Q3 2013

SHANGHAI, 14 November 2013 - Chinese offshore investment continues to grow impressively during 2013, up 25 percent y-o-y at the end of Q3 2013. According to Jones Lang LaSalle, Chinese offshore real estate investment volumes for 2013 have exceeded US$5 billion, already up on the old record of US$4 billion in 2012 full-year. The offshore expansion is growing in line with the Chinese domestic investment market which is up 17 percent q-o-q.The China outbound transaction volumes for three regions（2012vs2013）

While the destinations for offshore capital have remained broadly consistent, Chinese real estate investors have been most active in Europe, the US, Australia and Singapore. Interest in Europe, particularly, has increased since 2012, with transaction volumes up 25 percent y-o-y to almost US$2 billion. David Green-Morgan, Research Director, Global Capital Markets, Jones Lang LaSalle comments: “Europe was an early focus for the Chinese investors with a number of deals completed in the UK over the last three years. This has continued in 2013, but the focus has widened, and we have seen deals occur right across continental Europe with increased investor interest in Southern and Central Europe. However, the UK remains the most sought after market in Europe as core residential and office assets in Central London remain popular with investors looking for high yields.”Investor appetite for assets in the US, Australia and Singapore has also increased with Chinese investment into commercial real estate markets. In Australia, the transaction volume is up almost 100 percent y-o-y to reach US$500 million. Earlier in the year, a US$1 billion mixed use hotel and retail scheme in Singapore was sold to Bright Ruby, making it the largest single commercial property transaction in Singapore's history. After several years of speculative interest, Chinese investors have made some significant purchases in the US real estate markets this year with total investment reaching over US$2 billion in 2013 and additional deals expected to compete in the final quarter. Darren Xia, Director, International Capital Group, Jones Lang LaSalle China, noted: “So far, Chinese outbound investment has mainly focused on the world’s global cities and gateway markets such as Ping An in London, Greenland in New York and Bright Ruby in Singapore. However, Chinese investors have diverse interests and don’t act as a single, unified group. Although sovereign capital and insurance companies have been the most active, we have also seen offshore investment increase from Developers, Conglomerates and Private Investors, all of which have different perspectives and objectives.” – ends –